Teaching Resource for 2012 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Finalists

The purpose of this teaching resource is to help high-school educators explore contemporary Canadian nonfiction with students in senior grades by
introducing them to the books nominated for the 2012 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.




The prize is awarded for literary excellence in Canadian nonfiction books that demonstrate a distinctive voice and a persuasive and compelling command of
tone, narrative, style, and technique. This year’s finalists are Intolerable by Kamal Al-Solaylee, Solar Dance by Modris Eksteins, Straphanger by Taras Grescoe, The Measure of a Man by JJ Lee, and A Geography of Blood by Candace Savage. The lessons in this teaching
resource will help students explore the excerpts from the five books and appreciate the literary excellence of the authors.









Using This Teaching Resource






Each lesson opens with a brief section on the general Canadian English Language Arts curriculum principles that are used as the basis for the activities in
the lesson. This is followed by the author’s biography, a book synopsis, and activities. For ease of use, we have divided the activities in the five
lessons into strategies for before, during, and after reading.